Is it too early to talk 2008 PGA Championship?
The 2008 PGA Championship will be contested at Detroit’s Oakland Hills Golf Course. Rees Jones, following in his father’s footsteps, has completed yet another overhaul on the course. Having attended both the 1996 US Open and 2004 Ryder Cup at the golf course, I can understand the need to continue to renovate. The course is, in my estimation, a rather standard country club course with wild greens. I don’t find it to be a compelling venue for a major championship - but maybe Jones has done something to shake it alive.
“It’s one of the greatest thrills of my professional life, and I told the membership that,” Jones said Friday in a return to Oakland Hills to examine the final product. “This is the course that made my father famous. It was the first time a course had been redone specifically for a major championship. It was ahead of its time. I was a kid when I heard my dad called ‘The Monster Maker.’ ”
Of his own efforts, Jones said, “This golf course is ready for 21st-century golf.”
Jones stretched the South Course to 7,445 yards (from 7,099) with changes on 17 of the 18 holes. Only the par-3 third hole and the South Course’s majestic greens went untouched during the renovation.
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